Kuwait Times
Kuwait City, Aug 19: The Ministry of Communications has completed its report on the construction of an underground metro network and a railway system and submitted it to the cabinet, Communications Minister Abdulrahman Al-Ghunaim revealed yesterday. In a press statement, the minister said that the higher committee tasked with studying this vital project, which groups representatives of numerous government bodies, had approved the feasibility study conducted by Kuwait Transportation Union.
Al-Ghunaim stated that this exciting project complies with the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to transform Kuwait into a financial and commercial center, and reflects the emphasis that the government placed on the project as a mobilizer for commerce and the national economy.
The minister added that the project would also serve to reduce traffic congestion, which he said had become a major problem.
After the cabinet has studied it, the report will be referred to the joint services-economic committee, he explained, adding that an authority would have to be established to oversee these projects.
The minister also revealed that the private sector would have a leading role to play in this project.
In another development, Kuwait Municipality said yesterday it would organize a workshop on traffic in the State of Kuwait on Sept 10.
The workshop, themed "Towards Sustainable Regulation World-Class Safety for Us and Next Generations, will be held under auspices of Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipality Affairs Dr Fadhil Safar, according to a press release issued by the municipality here.
It will include three lectures-the first of which will review successful strategy of foreign countries in handling road and transport systems as well as the all-round national strategy for this sector.
The second lecture will deal with the issue of road safety and the third one will discuss technical issues such as development of road designs and solutions for areas which see frequent accidents.
The workshop will fall in the framework of preparations for an ideal system of road safety in Kuwait city in cooperation with the concerned departments.
The system will be introduced to other areas of Kuwait within a specific timetable.
A guideline for the system including a classification of roads and a database will be developed as part of the national strategy for transport sector under supervision of the Higher Council for Planning and Development and the United Nations Development Program.